Lubricator



oil will be fed thereto to lubricate the 'outer Patented July 12, i927. i

UNITED STATES `noisnn'r L. BLAeKgoF :eoAvNoKn irineinia.

LUBRIGATOR.

Application filed May 24, 1926. Serial No. 111,321.

The invention relates to lubrieating` apparatus and has particular means ttor vapplying lubricant to the flanges of locomotive and car Wheels.

The principal object of the inventiomgen ei'ally stated, is to provide a novel device adapted to be mounted upon a Wheel to be lubricated, the device including a reservoir member which is floatingly mounted` so to be supported by the flange of the `Wheel to be lubricated, the reservoir member consequently accommodating itself to variations in the distance between the Wheel and the rigid frame, it beingl Well known that owing to the action of the springs in the trucks this distance necessarily varies during eai travel.

An important object ot' the invention is `to provide a lubricating device embodying a supporting structure and a i'eservoirniemn i bermounted'therein in such a manner that not only will vertical movement ot the i'eser- 1 lateral movement of the car Wheels with respect to the rigid trame.

A stillfurther object of the invention is to provide a lubricating device of this charf actor in Which is embodied a reservoir meinber so constructed and airano'ed that lubril cant Will be ,fed from an oil chamber through the capillary action of a wick-like packing of absorbent material `which bearsiipon the llange to be lubricated so that only sutlicient i face of the `flange Without danger of the oil l running down. upon the Wheel tread and ycausing slipping ofthe Wheel with respect to the tracks.

A further object ot the invention is to provide'` a lubricating device` oftliischaracter, embodying anextremely simplehsupporting bracket for mounting the reservoir inember, `the bracket permitting. the ,necessary "vertical and lateral play .otthe reservoir.

Ycharacter which Willbe simple and inexpenf member .While preventing itr yfrom turning over at any time.

A n` additional. eject of the latenti@ ,is

to provide an apparatus ordevice of this sive in manufacture, easy .to install, autoble inservice, and a general V.improvenient in the art. p t Y r reference to i 'tang-alii" shape with :i

though there aired in this respect. The body portion 2 is .ably lorined with an enla n portion or piogection 9 which extendspartly f across the passage 6 so as to constrict the With the above and other objects and advantages in view, the invention consists in the detailsy of construction and arrangement et .parts to belieieinatter more fully de ,scribedl and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying diuiiviiigsl in which:

Fig-ure l is a perspective view ot the de-v .vice showing it mounted upon a rigid supportand engaging a wheel flange to be lubri- .catedm V Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through the reservoir member and the bracket, 4 A ,Figure 3 is. a vertical cross section taken on the line 3 3 ot Figure 2,

liigure l is a liragment-ary end elevation oit the reservoir member, and

Figure 5 is a cross sectionalvieiv therethrough taken en the line 5 5 of Figure l.

Referring,more particularly to the drawave shown the device as comprising erif'oir member indicated gene-rally by the numeral l, which reseiuuiii",meinbeil preterably includes a body 2 oi' substantially recdepending extending portion B thereon. `The reservoir member may: conveniently be termed as a casting io particular limitation deoiiliolloiv formation and is provided ivitli a transverse partition e which deiines a lubricant chamber '5 and passage 8 which leads to a discharge opening` 7 in the extension 3.

his extension is repr sented as curved in cross section-to deiine a Wall 8 which corresponds substantially to the curvature of the flange A. oat a Wheel B to be lubricated. One side Wall el the reservoir member is prefergenient, thickened discharge opening L lt is intended that the reservoir member be' .filled with absorbent material l0, such as cotton Waste, this matei-ial` dipping inte the lubricant chamberor ivell and lillina' the aassaffe 6 the Vend ot l b a the mass of packing' or wicking extending to the discharge opening ,7 so as to bear against 1the Wheel flange e -The projection 9, by constricting' the discharge opening, causes the absorbent material to engage only against thatA portionr'ot the 'lli-,ange which contacts with thewrail during car travel. y

` llllhen the device is mounted by means to be' desc'i'ibechit is' intended to lloat and be supported only by the iiange of the Wheel and it will be observed. that at one side of the discharge opening 7 the end of the extension 3 is inclined, as shown at 11, so as to be close to the tread (l of the wheel without actually engaging against it. The opposite side wall of the extension 3 may be inclined in the opposite direction as shown at 12 so as to define a triangular extension 13 located inwardly of the wheel and acting as a guide for the reservoir member. The projection 9 is represented inclined to correspond to the inclination of thel edge 12 and the top surface 14 of this projection is preferably inclined downwardly toward the opposite side wall of the reservoir member so as to facilitate placing the `absorbent material in position and forcing it into the passage 6 and to the discharge opening 7, when the reservoir member is packed. It is preferable that 'the lower edge portion 11 of the eX- tension 3 have an inwardly extending rib 15 which is intended to bear against the outside of the wheel flange to prevent lubricant from running down onto the wheel tread C.

To facilitate replenishing the oil supply and repacking of the reservoir member with absorbent material whenever such is necessary, I preferably provide the reservoir member with a cover 16 which extends over the entire open top, this cover being hinged as at 17 and being provided with an eXten sion 18 constituting a finger piece, and equipped with a spring catch 19 for holding it normally closed.

In order that the reservoir member 1 may be mounted upon a supporting structure to be described, I have shown it as provided at one side edge with upper and lower pairs of `spaced ears 2O apertured for the passage of bolts 21. Ihile it is conceivable that different detailed mounting means might be provided, I have shown an arm 22 suitably secured to and projecting from the front portion of the car or locomotive frame, this arm carrying a depending inverted U-shaped bracket 23 having its opposite sides formed with elongated slots 24 through which the bolts 21 extend, the pairs of ears 20 being located within the bracket. It `will be observed that the space between the arms of the bracket is greater than the width of the reservoir member so that the reservoir member will be free to move laterally within the bracket and to slide upon the bolts 21 in accordance with any lateral movement of the car wheels with respect to the lubricating device.

In the operation, it is of courseapparent that the reservoir member rests upon the flange of the wheel to be lubricated, the inclined edge 11 of the extension 3 permitting the reservoir member to fit down close to the wheel tread. Of course, the packing or y absorbent material 11 bears against that portion of the liange which engages the rail but is prevented from touching the liange at the area immediately adjacent the-tread. The absorbent material acts as a wick and, by capillary action, conducts oil from the well 5 to the wheel flange. The rib 15 on the side wall of the reservoir member acts to prevent the oil from running down onto the wheel tread and there is consequently no danger of oil coming upon the. tread and therefore on top of the rail, a condition which would naturallyv result in slipping of the wheels. As mentioned above, the reservoir member is capable of lateral movement with respect to the bracket 23 and also vertical movement, the latter being permitted by the. slots 24 when there is relative vertical movement of the wheel and car or locomotive frame as is bound to occur during travel, The eXtension 13 at the inside of the wheel acts as a guide and it might be mentioned that the major portion of the surface of this extension is preferably .depressed as at 25 to minimize the area bearing against the wheel` friction being consequently reduced. It is intended that the space between the rib 15 and the edge of the extension 13 be substantially the. same as the thickness of the wheel flange to prevent leakage of oil onto the wheel tread. Regardless of whether the locomotive or car equipped with the device be moved forwardly or rearwardly it is obvious that the reservoir member cannot turn over as there are two bolts 21 passing through the slots in the bracket. These bolts are preferably'of appreciably less diameter than the width of the slots so that a limited rocking movement of the reservoir member in a vertical plane will bey possible, the reservoir member being consequently capable of accommodating itself to all positions which may be assumed by the wheel with respect to the car or locomotive frame.

` In actual practice I havediscovered that a device constructed, assembled and mounted as shown and described acts most eiiiciently to lubricat-e wheel flanges so that rolling stock may travel more freely upon the rails inasmuch as friction will be reduced to the minimum. Naturally, this results in longer life of the rails and the wheels as the Wear is reduced. Less power will be required in starting and in running and it is clear that all the advantageous results have been attained.

i While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that the disclosure is merely an -exempliiication of the principles involved inasmuch as I reserve the right to make all such changes and modifications as will widen the field of utility and increase the adaptability of the invention, provided such variations constitute no departure from the yspirit of the invention or the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

lll)

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. In a. Wheel flange lubricator, a rigid supporting arm, a. depending inverted U- shaped bracket carried by said arm and having its opposite sides formed with elongated slots, a reservoir member containing lubricant and absorbent material and resting upon the flange to be lubricated, and transverse elements carried by the reservoir memy ber and extending through said slots to per mit vertical movement of the reservoir member with respect to the flange, the reservoir member having a Width less than the space within the bracket to permit lateral movement of the reservoir member. y

2. In a wheel flange lubricator, a reservoir member restin upon and supported by the flange to be Iubricated, upper and lower pairs of spaced ears on the reservoir member, a rigidly mounted depending inverted U-shaped bracket, said ears being located within the confines of said bracket, and means carried by the ears and slidably connected with the bracket to permit vertical movement of the reservoir member, the width of thepairs of ears being less than the space within the bracket to permit lateral movement of the reservoir member with respect to the bracket.

3. In a wheel flange lubricator, a support, and a reservoir member movably mounted within the support and formed as a hollow body provided with a depending extension bifurcated and shaped for straddling engagement upon a wheel flange, the bottom of the extension being inclined and formed with a constricted opening, the edge of one wall of the extension below the opening beingformed with an inwardly ext-ending rib engaging against the outer face of the wheel flange.

4. In-a wheel flange lubricator, a support, and a reservoir member movably mounted within the support and formed as a hollow 45 body provided with a depending extension bifurcated and shaped for straddling engagement upon a wheel flange, the bottom of the extension being inclined and formed with a constricted opening, the edge of one 5 wall of' the extension below the opening being formed with an inwardly extending rib engaging against the outer face of the wheel flange, the opposite wall of the eXtension being oppositely inclined to the first named wall and having its major portion depressed to define ribs bearing against the inner face of the wheel flange.

5. In a wheel flange lubricator, a support having sides formed with elongated slots, f5 a lubricant reservoir member resting upon the flange to be lubricated, and means carried by the reservoir member and extending through said slots to permit vertical movement of the reservoir member with respect 6 to the flange, the reservoir member havinga width less than the space within the support to permit lateral sliding movement of' the reservoir member with respect thereto.

6. In a Wheel flange lubricator, a support 7 including depending side portions, a lubricant reservoir resting upon the flange to be lubricated and supported thereby, and means carried by the reservoir member and slidably engaging the sides of the support to permit 7 vertical sliding movement of' the reservoir member with respect thereto, the reservoir member being of less Width than the space within the support to permit lateral sliding movement-,of the reservoir member with re- 8 spect thereto.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ROBERT I; BLACK. 

